ischke@caxton.co.za
Residents of Dawn Park have been concerned for a while over the Rondebult Cemetery that keeps expanding onto the sportsground in the area.
“Where are we going to play sport now?” says Eddie Makhwapa, who uses the Dawn Park sportsground with his children.
“Due to this situation, crime might escalate, because children have nowhere to play sports anymore.”
According to the Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, the cemetery belongs to the metro’s Parks Division of the Real Estate Department.
“The sportsground is located on land that was demarcated for cemeteries by the erstwhile Boksburg Town Council, since back then there was a lack of available land to use for sports in Dawn Park.
“At the time, the Dawn Park suburb was quite small and the cemetery was not used much often.
“Sport, Recreation and Parks formed one department during those years, so the decision to locate a sportsground on land that was not in use, was sensible at the time.
“However, with the increase of community dwellings around Dawn Park over the years, things have changed and this has led to the current situation.
“Thus, there is no other alternative than to expand the cemetery onto the Dawn Park sports ground.
“An alternative sportsground is available and ready for use in Villa Liza next to the Primary school, only 500m away from the current Dawn Park sportsground.
“Also, an informal ground with soccer poles is going to be graded in Dawn Park along West Street. This will be done at or before the end of the financial year next year.” – @IschkeBoksburg
